We followed them from roughly Alki all the way up to Mukilteo. We had all the members of J Pod, K Pod and a few L-Pod whales as well. Didn’t see any foraging, but just lots of slow travel and socializing. Collected several fecal samples in addition to all the photo identification work.

He identifies the whale in the photo as K21, a male (if you didn’t already know that because of the large dorsal fin) born in 1986, according to this page on the Center for Whale Research website. J, K, and L pods are the “Southern Resident” groups who live in this region, though they sometimes forage much farther away.

With all the whale action here in Puget Sound it might explain the missing seal and seal pup population. If there is really a lack of seals in this area. Just part of the food chain along with lots of salmon.

wetone – the southern resident orcas (J, K and L pods) are fish-eaters. They prefer salmon, especially Chinook. They are most commonly seen in central Puget Sound (around here) October through February. There have been a lot of chum salmon around lately, and we assume that’s connected with the whales being here, too –

Transient orcas also pass through here, and their main diet is marine mammals, like seals.
–While we’ve seen more transients in the past few years, it’s unlikely they are having a significant impact on the seal population here. The transient pods are smaller, and their visits more rare.
–The exception to that was in 2005, when a group of transients spent a few months in Hood Canal, and reduced the seal population there by half!
Hope that helps -check out http://www.thewhaletrail.org for more orca info!

(Common loon in winter plumage, photographed by Mark Wangerin) Lots of good cheer - and some community involvement too - in our highlights for the rest of today/tonight, from the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide and Event Calendar: COCOA CRIS CRINGLE: 4-8 pm photo sessions at Easy Street Records, rais...